Slide door

ABSTRACT

A slide door is suitable for use in a vehicle slide door of a type where a window glass is lowered and a window is opened. This slide door includes an intermediate stopper mechanism. The intermediate stopper mechanism includes an intermediate striker disposed at a vehicle side, a first pole rotatably disposed at a slide door side and detachably engaged with the intermediate striker, a first latch which is a latch to engage with the first pole rotated to a position where it cannot abut on the intermediate striker and to restrain the first pole to that position, and which releases restraint of the first pole when a window glass of the slide door is opened to a predetermined position. By this structure, switching of the intermediate stopper mechanism can be carried out without fail.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a slide door attached to a side or thelike of a vehicle in an opening/closing enabled manner, and particularlyto a slide door including an intermediate stopper mechanism forrestraining the movement of the slide door, which is in an openingdirection and is in the middle of opening, within a definite range.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 8, a window glass 1 is disposed in a slide door 3 of avehicle or the like in a rising/falling enabled manner. Thus, when theslide door 3 is opened while the window glass 1 is in a lower position,if an object is inserted in the window of this slide door 3, there is afear that this object is pinched between a window frame 7 of the slidedoor 3 and a pillar 9, and receives damage.

Then, in order to avoid this situation, it is proposed that anintermediate stopper mechanism is provided, and when the window glass 1is lowered to a position lower than a predetermined one, the slide doormoving in the opening direction is stopped in the middle of opening.

As an example of this slide door, there is one as shown in FIG. 9.

First, in a period when the window glass 1 descends from a full-closestate by a predetermined amount L (for example, 150 mm), an intermediatestopper control mechanism 11 pulls in a cable 13 (accurately, its innercable) in accordance with this descending amount. On the other hand,when the movement stroke of the cable 13 reaches a set value, pulling inthe cable 13 is stopped. However, even in this state, the window glass 1can be lowered.

An intermediate stopper mechanism 15 is coupled with the intermediatestopper control mechanism 11 through the cable 13. This intermediatestopper mechanism 15 is driven by the intermediate stopper controlmechanism 11, and is for stopping the slide door 3 moving in the openingdirection in the middle of opening. An X-arm type wind regulator 16 isfor driving the window glass 1 in the up-and-down direction.

Here, the structure of the intermediate stopper control mechanism 11will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 10. A base plate 31is fixed to an inner panel of the slide door 3, and a pin 33 is providedto stand on this base plate 31. A first lever 35 and a second lever 37are rotatably attached to this pin 33.

A spiral spring 39 is wound around the pin 33, one end portion 39 a ofwhich is fastened to the first lever 35, and the other end portion 39 bof which is fastened to the second lever 37.

A roller 41 is disposed at a rotation end of the first lever 35, andthis roller 41 is engaged with a guide 17 provided at a lower portion ofthe window glass 1 movably in the horizontal direction in the drawing. Acable 13 is connected to the second lever 37.

Next, the structure of the intermediate stopper mechanism 15 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 11. A base plate 21 is fixed to thelower portion of the inner panel of the slide door 3, and a lever 22 isrotatably attached onto the base plate 21. The lever 22 is coupled withthe cable 13, and is energized in the direction of an arrow I bynot-shown energizing means. An elastic roller 24 is disposed at the tipof this lever 22. On the other hand, a step portion 28 capable ofabutting on the roller 24 is formed at the side of a vehicle body 26.

In the foregoing conventional slide door 3, when the window glass 1 inthe full-close state is lowered by using the window regulator 16, thefirst lever 35 is also rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.10 as the window glass 1 is lowered. Since the second lever 37 is alsoconnected with the first lever 35 through the spiral spring 39, it isrotated in the counterclockwise direction, and pulls in the cable 13.

When the movement stroke of the cable 13 reaches a set value, therotation of the second lever 37 is restrained, and it becomes impossibleto rotate in accordance with the first lever 35. However, even in thisstate, the spiral spring 39 is elastically deformed to be shrunk, sothat only the first lever 35 can rotate in the counterclockwisedirection, and the window glass 1 can be lowered.

Thus, when the window glass 1 is lowered from the full-close state bythe predetermined amount L or more, the intermediate stopper controlmechanism 11 pulls in the cable 13 by a predetermined amount, and thelever 22 rotates against the energizing force of the not-shownenergizing means, and moves from the position indicated by atwo-dot-chain line in FIG. 11 to the position indicated by a solid line.

When the slide door 3 is moved in the opening direction in this state,the roller 24 abuts on the step portion 28 of the vehicle body side, andstops at the position, so that it becomes impossible to open the slidedoor 3 anymore.

Incidentally, it is designed such that the slide door 3 including suchintermediate stopper mechanism 15 can be locked at the full-openposition by a full open stopper mechanism. As shown in FIG. 12, aconventionally well-known full open stopper mechanism has such astructure that a roller 27 disposed at the side of the slide door 3 ismovably engaged with a guide rail 23 at the vehicle side, a plate spring25 with a part protruding in the guide rail 23 is provided, and theroller 27 causes this plate spring 25 to be elastically deformed andreaches the full-open position, so that the slide door is held at thefull-open position.

In the slide door 3 including the intermediate stopper mechanism 15,even if the window glass 1 is lowered and an object is inserted in thewindow of the slide door 3, a space exists between the window frame 7 ofthe slide door 3 and the pillar 9 without fail in this situation, sothat it is possible to avoid such a situation that the object insertedin the window is pinched. However, there are defects as described below.

(1) In the case where the window glass 1 is lowered from the full-openstate, before the window glass 1 reaches the predetermined amount L,since the intermediate stopper control mechanism 11 gradually pulls thecable 13, the lever 22 is also gradually rotated. Thus, when the slidedoor 3 is strongly pulled in the opening direction in the state wherethe lowering amount of the window glass 1 is slightly smaller than thepredetermined amount L, the roller 24 abuts on the step portion 28, andthen, gets over this and advances, and the slide door 3 moves to thefull-open position.

That is, at the time of switching operation of the intermediate stoppermechanism 15, the roller 24 is in a halfway state, in this halfwaystate, the roller 24 gets over the step portion 28 and advances. Whenthe slide door 3 slides in this state, a large load is applied to theroller 24, the lever 22, the base plate 21, and the like, so that thedurability of these parts is deteriorated, and in addition, an abnormalsound is produced, an open operating force of the slide door 3 isincreased, and a feeling of operation becomes bad as well.

(2) When the window glass 1 is lowered by the predetermined amount L ormore, it is necessary that the roller 24 certainly abuts on the stepportion 28 of the vehicle body side and to stop the slide door 3.However, since the roller 24 is in the halfway state within a widerange, in order to obtain a certain operation, it is absolutelynecessary to adjust the attachment state of the base plate 21 throughtrial and error.

(3) Through pulling the cable 13, in order to largely change the roller24 from the position where it does not abut on the step portion 28 tothe position where it abuts on the step portion, it is necessary to makethe length r of the lever 22 long and to secure the magnification of amovement amount. Thus, an occupied space of an inner mechanism becomeslarge as the lever 22 becomes long.

(4) The intermediate stopper control mechanism 11 is physicallyindependent from another mechanism. Besides, the first lever 35 isdirectly engaged with the window glass 1 having a large movement range.Thus,the first lever 35 becomes large, and a large occupied space isnecessary.

(5) Since the energizing force of the energizing means to energize thelever 22 is such that the lever 22 is pressed in the lock direction, theenergizing force of this energizing means cannot be made smallthoughtlessly. On the other hand, the lever 22 is rotated and deformedagainst the energizing force of the energizing means by the force oflowering the window glass 1. Thus, the operation force of the windowregulator 16 is large.

(6) In the case where the window glass 1 is lowered by an amountexceeding the predetermined amount L, it is necessary to shrink thespiral spring 39, and the operating force of the window regulator 16 isincreased.

Incidentally, the foregoing slide door 3 has defects as described belowwith respect to the full-open stopper mechanism as well.

(1) In order for the full-open stopper mechanism to change into anunlock state or lock state, it is necessary that the roller 27 gets overthe plate spring 25, and at this time, a large open operating forcebecomes necessary for the slide door 3.

(2) Since the movement of the roller 27 is prohibited by the platespring 25 having no rigidity, the force to hold the slide door 3 at thefull-open position is weak.

An object of the present invention is to provide a slide door whichovercomes the defects of the conventional slide door.

That is, a first object of the invention is to provide a slide door inwhich a halfway state does not occur at switching of an intermediatestopper mechanism.

A second object is to provide a slide door in which an inner mechanismcan be made compact, and adjustment at the time of assembling isunnecessary.

A third object is to provide a slide door in which an open/closeoperating force of the slide door and an operating force of a windowglass is small and is not changed, and the operationally is superior.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a slide door including an intermediatestopper mechanism, and the intermediate stopper mechanism includes anintermediate striker disposed at a vehicle side; a first pole rotatablyprovided at a slide door side and detachably engaged with theintermediate striker; first energizing means for energizing the firstpole so that the first pole is returned to a position where it can abuton the intermediate striker; a first latch which is a latch to engagewith the first pole rotated to a position where it cannot abut on theintermediate striker and to restrain the first pole at that position,and which releases restraint of the first pole when a window glass ofthe slide door is opened to a predetermined position; and secondenergizing means for energizing the first latch in a direction to makeengagement with the first pole.

By this structure, in the slide door of the invention, at switching ofthe intermediate stopper mechanism, a halfway state does not occur.Besides, an internal structure can be made compact, and adjustment atthe time of assembling becomes unnecessary, and further, an open/closeoperating force of the slide door and an operating force of the windowglass are small and are not changed, and the operationally is alsosuperior.

Moreover, in the invention, if an intermediate stopper control mechanismfor driving the intermediate stopper mechanism in accordance with anopening degree of the window glass is attached to a window regulator,the intermediate stopper control mechanism can be made compact. As theintermediate stopper control mechanism, for example, it is possible touse one constituted by a cam disposed at a movable portion of the windowregulator, and a lever rotatably disposed at a fixed portion of thewindow regulator, including an arm portion engagable with the cam, andbeing connected with the intermediate stopper mechanism through atransmission member.

The invention can also be provided with a full-open stopper mechanism,and this full-open stopper mechanism includes a full-open strikerdisposed at the vehicle body side; a second latch rotatably disposed atthe slide door side and detachably engaged with the full-open striker;third energizing means for energizing the second latch so as to returnthe second latch to a position where it can abut on the full-openstriker; a second pole which is engaged with the second latch engagedwith the full-open striker and rotated to a lock position, and whichrestrains the second latch to the position; and fourth energizing meansfor energizing the second pole in a direction to make engagement withthe second latch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing the whole structure of an intermediate stoppermechanism and a full-open stopper mechanism in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the operation of the intermediatestopper mechanism in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the operation of the full-open stoppermechanism in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the whole structure of a window regulator andan intermediate stopper control mechanism in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing an H portion (intermediate stoppercontrol mechanism) in FIG. 4 seen from the rear side.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an intermediate stopper control mechanism ofanother embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along a cutting line A—A in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a slide door of a vehicle.

FIG. 9 is a view showing the whole structure of a conventional slidedoor in which an intermediate stopper mechanism is provided.

FIG. 10 is a view showing an intermediate stopper control mechanism inFIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a view seen in the direction of an arrow B of FIG. 9, and isa view for explaining the intermediate stopper mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a full-open lock mechanism in a conventionalslide door.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

For the purpose of describing the invention in more detail, embodimentsof the invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

(Whole Structure)

In FIG. 1, a guide rail 51 is disposed at a vehicle side. Rollers 53 and55 are disposed at a slide door, and are movably engaged with the guiderail 51. By this, the slide door is guided by the guide rail 51, andbecomes movable between a full-close position and a full-open position.

A base plate 61 disposed at a lower portion of the slide door isprovided with an intermediate stopper mechanism 63 for stopping theslide door in the middle of movement in the opening direction, and afull-open stopper mechanism 65 for holding the slide door at thefull-open position. FIG. 1 shows a state where the slide door is in thefull-close position.

(Intermediate Stopper Mechanism)

An intermediate striker 67 to be engaged with the intermediate stoppermechanism 63 is disposed at the vehicle side. When the slide door movesfrom the full-close position to the full-open position, in the casewhere a window glass is opened by a predetermined amount or more, theintermediate stopper mechanism 63 abuts on the intermediate striker 67,and the further movement of the slide door in the opening direction isrestrained.

Here, the intermediate stopper mechanism 63 will be described in detail.A first pole 71 capable of abutting on the intermediate striker 67 isrotatably disposed on the base plate 61. This first pole 71 is energizedby the not-shown first energizing means in the direction of an arrow D.

Moreover, a first latch 73 is rotatably disposed on the baseplate 61. Aprotrusion 73 a of the first latch 73 is engaged with a protrusion 71 aof the first pole 71 having rotated to a position (rotation positionshown in FIG. 1) where it does not abut on the intermediate striker 67,and the first latch restrains the first pole 71 to that position. Thisfirst latch 73 is energized by the not-shown second energizing means inthe direction (direction of an arrow E) in which the protrusion 73 a isengaged with the protrusion 71 a of the first pole 71.

When the protrusion 73 a of the first latch 73 is engaged with theprotrusion 71 a of the first pole 71, the rotation of the first pole 71in the direction of the arrow D is prohibited.

The first latch 73 is connected with a cable 75 driven by anintermediate stopper control mechanism described later.

A pole pushing-back pin 68 as a pole returning member is disposed at thevehicle side. The pole pushing-back pin 68 abuts on the first pole 71 inthe slide door during movement in the closing direction, and rotates thefirst pole 71 from a position where it can abut on the intermediatestriker 67 to a position where it cannot abut on the intermediatestriker. A stopper 77 protrudingly disposed on the base plate 61 abutson the first pole 71 which is released from the restraint of the firstlatch 73, and stops the first pole 71 to this abutment position.

(Full-open Stopper Mechanism)

The full-open stopper mechanism 65 in FIG. 1 will be described. Afull-open striker 69 which engages with the full-open stopper mechanism65 when the slide door moves to the full-open position is disposed atthe vehicle side. On the other hand, a second latch 81 in which anengaging groove 81 a detachably engaged with the full-open striker 69 isformed, is rotatably disposed on the base plate 61. This second latch 81is energized by the not-shown third energizing means in the direction ofan arrow F.

Here, the position of the second latch 81 shown in FIG. 1 is a positionwhere it can be engaged with the full-open striker 69, and the secondlatch 81 in the state where it is not restrained from the outside isenergized by the third energizing means to return to the position shownin FIG. 1.

Besides, a second pole 83 is rotatably disposed on the baseplate 61. Aprotrusion 83 a of the second pole 83 is engaged with a protrusion 81 bof the second latch 81 which has been engaged with the full-open striker69 and has been rotated to the lock position, and the second polerestrains the second latch 81 to the lock position. The second pole 83is energized by the not-shown fourth energizing means in such adirection (direction of an arrow G) that the protrusion 83 a is engagedwith the protrusion 81 b of the second latch 81.

When the protrusion 83 a of the second pole 83 is engaged with theprotrusion 81 b of the second latch 81, the rotation of the second latch81 in the direction of the arrow F is prohibited.

In a case where the vehicle is an automobile, a cable 85 driven by itsinner handle, outer handle or the like is connected to the second pole83.

(Window Regulator)

In this embodiment, the slide door is provided with an X-arm type powerwindow regulator as shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, a pin 103 is rotatablydisposed on a base plate 101 attached to an inner panel of the slidedoor. An intermediate portion of a lift arm 105 is fixed to the pin 103.

A driven gear 107 is fixed to one rotation end of the lift arm 105. Thisdriven gear 107 is engaged with a pinion 110 (see FIG. 5) disposed on anoutput shaft 109 a (see FIG. 5) of a motor 109 disposed on the baseplate 101, and is driven and rotated.

A roller 111 is disposed at the other rotation end of the lift arm 105,and this roller 111 is engaged with a guide 117 formed in a lift armbracket 115 attached to a lower end of a window glass 113 in such amanner that it can move in the horizontal direction.

One end of an equalizer arm bracket 123 is rotatably attached to the pin103 of the base plate 101. The other end of the equalizer arm bracket123 is fixed to the inner panel of the slide door.

A pin 119 passing through the lift arm 105 is rotatably disposed betweenthe pin 103 of the lift arm 105 and the roller 111, and a firstequalizer arm 121 extending in the direction of the lift arm bracket 115is fixed to one end of the pin 119.

A second equalizer arm 125 extending in the direction of the equalizerarm bracket 123 is fixed to the other end of the pin 119.

Thus, the first and second equalizer arms 121 and 125 are made anintegrated arm through the pin 119.

A roller 131 movably engaged with the guide 117 of the lift arm bracket115 is disposed at the tip of the first equalizer arm 121, and a roller135 movably engaged with a guide 133 formed in the equalizer arm bracket123 is disposed at the tip of the second equalizer arm 125.

The lift arm 105 is energized in the direction to lift the window glass113 by a balance spring 141 an inner end of which is hooked to the pin103, an intermediate portion of which is spirally wound around the pin103, and an outer end of which is hooked to the base plate 101.

In this window regulator, when the motor 109 is driven, the lift arm 105to which the driven gear 107 is fixed rotates around the pin 103, sothat the window glass 113 is moved up or down.

(Intermediate Stopper Control Mechanism)

An intermediate stopper control mechanism 151 is disposed at the rearside of the base plate 101. The intermediate stopper control mechanism151 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. An L-shaped lever 153having two arm portions is rotatably attached to an output shaft 109 aof the motor 109. A cam plate 155 as a cam is fixed to the driven gear107.

A roller 157 is disposed at the end of the one arm portion of the lever153 in such a manner that it can abut on the cam plate 155. A cable 75connected with the intermediate stopper mechanism 63 is attached to theother rotation end of the lever 153.

A spring 163 is held between a bracket 161 fixed to the base plate 101and the lever 153. The lever 153 is energized in such a direction(direction of an arrow M in the drawing) that the roller 157 abuts onthe cam plate 155. Incidentally, the lever 153 abuts on a cut raisingportion 161 a provided on the bracket 161 in the case where the roller157 does not abut on the cam plate 155.

With respect to the intermediate stopper control mechanism 151 havingsuch a structure, in the case where the motor 109 is driven in thedirection to lower the window glass 113 in the full-close state, thatis, in the case where the lift arm 105 is moved in the direction of anarrow N in FIG. 4, the driven gear 107 is moved in the direction of anarrow J in FIG. 5.

By this, the cam plate 155 fixed to the driven gear 107 is moved fromthe position of a solid line in FIG. 5 to the position of atwo-dot-chain line, so that the lever 153 is rotated in the direction ofan arrow K and the cable 75 is pulled in.

The cam plate 155 is composed of a slant surface 155 a and an arcsurface 155 b, and the slant surface 155 a first abuts on the roller157, so that the lever 153 is driven to rotate in the direction of thearrow K. Then, it is designed such that the roller 157 reaches the arcsurface 155 b at the point of time when the window glass 113 is loweredto a predetermined position.

Thus, even if the window glass 113 is lowered to exceed thepredetermined position, the position of the lever 153 continues to bekept, and the cable 75 does not continue to be further pulled.

(Operation of Intermediate Stopper Mechanism)

The operation of the intermediate stopper mechanism 63 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. When the slide door is in thefull-close position and the window glass 113 is in the full-close state,as shown in FIG. 1, the first latch 73 is engaged, by the energizingforce of the second energizing means, with the first pole 71 which hasrotated to the position where it cannot abut on the intermediate striker67.

Here, when the window glass 113 is lowered to the predeterminedposition, the cable 75 is pulled in by the intermediate stopper controlmechanism 151, the first latch 73 is driven in such a direction(clockwise direction of FIG. 1) that the first latch 73 is separatedfrom the first pole 71, and at the point of time when the window glassexceeds the predetermined position, the engagement with the first pole71 is released. By this, when the restraint by the pole pushing-back pin68 disappears, the first pole 71 is rotated by the energizing force ofthe first energizing means until it abuts on the stopper pin 77, andcomes to have the state where it can abut on the intermediate striker67.

As the slide door moves in the opening direction, the first pole 71 goesaway from the pole pushing-back pin 68, so that it rotates until itabuts on the stopper pin 77. When moving further, as shown in FIG. 2,the first pole abuts on the intermediate striker 67, and is put into anintermediate lock state. By this, the movement of the slide door isprohibited halfway.

Here, in order to release the intermediate lock state, the slide door ismoved in the closing direction, and is returned to the position of FIG.1. By this, the first pole 71 is pressed by the pole pushing-back pin 68disposed at the vehicle side, the first pole 71 is rotated in theopposite direction to the direction of the arrow D, the first latch 73is again engaged with the first pole 71, and the intermediate lock stateis released.

(Operation of Full-open Stopper Mechanism)

The operation of the full-open stopper mechanism 65 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

When the slide door is not in the full-open state, the second latch 81is, by the energizing force of the third energizing means, in theposition (position of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) where it can engage with thefull-open striker 69.

When the slide door is moved in the full-open direction, the full-openstriker 69 is engaged with the engaging groove 81 a of the second latch81, and further, the second latch 81 is rotated in the clockwisedirection.

When the second latch 81 is rotated, as shown in FIG. 3, the second pole83 is engaged with the second latch 81 by the energizing force of thefourth energizing means, so that rotation of the second latch 81 in thedirection of the arrow F is prohibited, and the full-open lock state isobtained.

In order to release the full-open lock state, an inside handle oroutside handle is operated. Then, the cable 85 is pulled in, so that theengagement of the second pole 83 with the second latch 81 is released,the second latch 81 becomes possible to rotate in the direction of thearrow F, and the full-open lock state is released. Thus, the slide doorcan be moved in the closing direction.

As described above, the slide door of this embodiment has effects asdescribed below.

First, since the intermediate stopper mechanism 63 is constituted by thefirst pole 71 and the first latch 73, a halfway state does not occur atthe switching. Thus, as compared with the conventional slide door havinga halfway state at the switching, an abnormal sound is not generated,the durability of parts is improved, and further, an operating force formoving the slide door is not changed.

Moreover, when the intermediate stopper mechanism 63 is attached, it isnot necessary to carry out troublesome adjustment of an attachmentstate, and the attachment operation is also facilitated.

Moreover, since the movement range of the first pole 71 can be setirrespective of the pulling amount of the cable 75, the intermediatestopper mechanism 63 can be made compact, and saving in space can berealized.

Moreover, the energizing force of the first energizing means forenergizing the first latch 73 is sufficient only if the first latch 73is engaged with the first pole 71, and a very large energizing force isnot required. Thus, a small force is sufficient to lower the windowglass 113.

Moreover, since the intermediate stopper control mechanism 151 isattached to the base plate 101 of the window regulator, the occupiedspace can be made small. Besides, by adjusting the position and shape ofthe cam plate 155, the driving amount of the intermediate stoppercontrol mechanism can be arbitrarily adjusted, so that the assembling isalso easy.

Since the cam mechanism constituted by the cam plate 155 and the lever153 engaged with this cam plate 155 is used, large energy such as toshrink the spiral spring as in the prior art becomes unnecessary, andthe change in operation force of the window regulator becomes small.

Besides, in the foregoing embodiment, since the full-open stoppermechanism 65 is included, effects as described below can also beobtained.

First, the energizing force of the third energizing means for energizingthe second latch 81 is sufficient only if the second latch 81 is movedto the position where it can be engaged with the full-open striker 69,and a very large energizing force is not required. Thus, the change ofthe operation force of the slide door in the case where the full-openstopper mechanism 65 is put in the lock state is not changed very muchfrom a previous one, and the operationally is excellent.

Moreover, in the case where the full-open stopper mechanism 65 becomesthe unlock state from the lock state, since the second latch 81 is movedby the energizing force of the third energizing means, the operationforce of the slide door is not changed.

Furthermore, since the intermediate stopper mechanism 63 can set themovement range of the first pole 71 irrespective of the pulling amountof the cable 75, and can be made compact, the full-open stoppermechanism 65 is disposed adjacently and both are disposed on the samebase plate 61, so that the attachment becomes easy.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6 and FIG.7. This relates to a portion of an intermediate stopper controlmechanism, and a remarkable difference from the foregoing firstembodiment is an attachment position of a lever. Thus, the same portionsas the first embodiment are designated by the same reference charactersand their duplicate description is omitted.

A lever 153′ is rotatably attached to a bracket 201 disposed at a lowerportion of a base plate 101 by using a pin 203.

A spring 163′ has one end engaged with the bracket 201, and the otherend of the spring is engaged with the lever 153′, so that the lever 153′is energized in such a direction (direction of an arrow 111 in FIG. 6)that a roller 157′ abuts on a cam plate 155, and in the case where theroller 157′ does not abut on the cam plate 155, it abuts on a stopper211 disposed on the bracket 201.

Also in such a structure, similar effects to the first embodiment can beobtained. Furthermore, since constituent parts other than the cam plate155 disposed on the driven gear 107 are concentrated on the bracket 201,later attachment becomes easier than the first embodiment.

Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the foregoingembodiments. For example, in the foregoing embodiments, although thespring 163, 163′ is provided so as to press the roller 157, 157′ of thelever 153, 153′ to the cam plate 155, in the case where the intermediatestopper mechanism includes energizing means for constantly pulling thecable, the spring 163, 163′ is unnecessary.

Moreover, for example, also in the case where a positive motion cammechanism composed of a groove cam and a follower movably engaged withthis is adopted, the spring 163, 163′ can be omitted.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the slide door of the present invention is suitablefor use in a vehicle slide door of a type where a window glass islowered and a window is opened. Particularly, the invention is suitablefor use in a side door of an automobile such as a one-box car.

What is claimed is:
 1. A slide door comprising an intermediate stoppermechanism, the intermediate stopper mechanism comprising: anintermediate striker disposed at a vehicle side; a first pole rotatablydisposed at a slide door side and detachably engaged with theintermediate striker; a first energizing means for energizing the firstpole so that the first pole is returned to a position where it can abuton the intermediate striker; a first latch which is a latch to engagewith the first pole rotated to a position where it cannot abut on theintermediate striker and to restrain the first pole to that position,and which releases restraint of the first pole when a window glass ofthe slide door is opened to a predetermined position; and a secondenergizing means for energizing the first latch in a direction to makeengagement with the first pole.
 2. The slide door according to claim 1,further comprising a pole returning member disposed at the vehicle side,the pole returning member abutting on the first pole in the slide doormoving in a closing direction, and rotating the first pole from aposition where it can abut on the intermediate striker to a positionwhere it cannot abut.
 3. The slide door according to claim 1, furthercomprising an intermediate stopper control mechanism for driving theintermediate stopper mechanism in accordance with an opening degree ofthe window glass, the intermediate stopper control mechanism beingattached to a window regulator.
 4. The slide door according to claim 3,wherein the intermediate stopper control mechanism includes a camdisposed at a movable portion of the window regulator, and a lever whichis rotatably disposed at a fixed portion of the window regulator,includes an arm portion engagable with the cam, and is connected withthe intermediate stopper mechanism through a transmission member.
 5. Theslide door according to claim 4, wherein the cam includes a slantsurface for rotating the arm portion of the lever, and an arc surfacefor holding the lever at that position, and rotation of the arm portionis transmitted to the first latch in the intermediate stopper mechanismthrough the transmission member.
 6. The slide door according to claim 1,further comprising a full-open stopper mechanism, the full open stoppermechanism comprising: a full-open striker disposed at the vehicle bodyside; a second latch rotatably disposed at the slide door side anddetachably engaged with the full-open striker; a third energizing meansfor energizing the second latch so as to return the second latch to aposition where it can abut on the full-open striker; a second pole whichis engaged with the second latch engaged with the full open striker androtated to a lock position, and which restrains the second latch to theposition; and a fourth energizing means for energizing the second polein a direction to make engagement with the second latch.
 7. The slidedoor according to claim 6, wherein the intermediate stopper mechanismand the full-open stopper mechanism are disposed on the same base plate.